A Personal Thing
by Darcy Brandon
Summary: Logan and Wheeler go to lunch and end up fighting. Can they make their partnership work? Coauthored with I.Adler.


_**Author's notes: This is co-authored by I. Adler so half the credit for the story goes to her. All characters L&O-related are property of Dick Wolf & NBC Universal.**_

The January day was warmer than most. On the west coast, it was said to have been freezing, but in New York City it was comfortable in the 50s. The two detectives stood on the side of the road, peering at the corpse. The short-haired redheaded one wrinkled her nose as she wrote something in her notebook. Her tall, broad-shouldered partner squinted as he knelt down to get a better view of the spattered brains on the side of the road.

Smacking his gum, Mike Logan glanced from the corpse back to his partner as he knelt. "You know, I haven't had lunch today…"

Megan Wheeler knit her brows. "…you can eat?"

"Yeah, why not?" Logan was not phased.

"I don't know, the brains on the side of the road…" Wheeler tucked her notebook into her jacket pocket.

Logan got up with a little effort. "I don't eat organ meat, unless it's in hotdogs."

Wheeler shoved her hands in her pockets, smirking. "…okay, lunch, somewhere far from the bodies."

"But—the really good falafel is—oh, never mind. _You _probably want a salad."

She gave him a look. "I think I could go for a cheeseburger and some greasy fries."

Logan gave her the eye in return. "All right. You order your _own_ fries."

As they walked toward the burgundy department sedan, she glanced at him. "Like I would eat something that you touched." He rolled his eyes at that.

"Let's go." Wheeler jingled the keys and unlocked the car, getting in on the driver's side.

Logan plopped down in the passenger seat and began fooling around with the radio.

Wheeler pulled out of the parking space. "So there's this little burger joint a few blocks down from here…"

"Yeah?" Logan glanced at her. "Any good?"

She nodded as she drove. "Yeah, Danny—Captain Ross—and I, and a couple others from our old team…we used to go there a lot."

"Ah ha." Logan gave a near smirk as he finally settled on a station.

Wheeler looked over while waiting in traffic. "What?"

"Nooothing."

She didn't believe him. "Didn't you and...whoever...have places you went? You didn't seem terribly sad to see Deakins go. I'm guessing he wasn't...you know...your guy..."

He drummed his fingers on his knee as the light turned green. "You make that sound...you know...gay." He paused. "Not that there's anything wrong with that…"

Wheeler rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant."

"Yeah, well. No. Deakins was...well, pushy. Like I was five or something."

Wheeler nodded. "I guess some people need getting told what to do all the time...who was your guy?"

Logan made a face again at her phrasing. "That's just…odd."

She sighed. "Alright….Who was the CO who helped you the most?"

"…why are we gettin' into this?" Logan looked out the window.

"It's not a difficult question…" Wheeler sighed.

"It's a personal question."

Megan concentrated on the road. "Fine, Logan."

After a moment, Mike asked, "Why do you care?"

"It was just a question. I like knowing about the people I'm working with...it helps on the job and we're spending a lot of time together." She paused. "But don't feel obligated."

"Fine." He knew the next remark could get him smacked, or worse, but if she was going to go through the whole rigmarole of acting like she gave a damn he should at least be able to get a few shots in. "I like blowjobs." He went on. "Some guys, they say that it doesn't matter who gives 'em, I say it does."

Megan's face turned bright red, a combination of anger and embarrassment, largely the latter, as she clutched the steering wheel, knuckles going white.

Logan was nonplussed. "Now,_ that's_ personal."

Her voice was measured. "Forget it. You've clearly made up your mind about this partnership and your role in it." Still red, she parked the car.

"Nice." He was almost sneering. He didn't entirely know why.

She didn't know why either. He had his moods, she'd learned in the several months since they'd started working together. But this…she wasn't even sure what to do here. She turned to face him, the crimson color slowly leaving her cheeks.

"What do you expect me to say, Logan?"

Mike merely shrugged as they both got out of the car. He followed her up to the burger joint.

"Hey, you ask a personal question…" He waited for her to go in.

"I didn't ask that one." She glared as she went inside.

"Yeah, well." He looked around the place. "They serve beer here?"

She nodded as they went up to the counter. A waitress with dark blond hair stood there scribbling on a pad. She saw Logan first, glanced at him warily and then noticed Wheeler.

"Megan?" the waitress, whose nametag read _Alaina_, leaned forward and then laughed a little. "It's been awhile."

Wheeler recognized the woman too, an old friend who'd waitressed there back when she, Danny and the other guys from the taskforce had frequented the place. She nodded. "Moved uptown, to Major Case."

Logan hung back slightly, watching the interaction between the two women.

Alaina the waitress nodded back to Megan, and then glanced again at Mike.

Wheeler tilted her head slightly toward Mike. "This is Logan, my new partner."

"What happened to Benny?" Alaina asked.

Ben Scofield had been her partner on the taskforce.

"He went back to Vice," Megan informed.

Mike watched them for a moment longer and then interjected. "So…beer, burger?"

Scribbling down his order, Alaina looked to Wheeler. "Your usual?"

"Yeah, extra on the grease there," Wheeler said as she went to find a table, finally settling on a booth near a window. She slid into it, shedding her jacket.

Logan followed, scooting a little bit harder to wedge into his side of the booth.

As they got settled, a busboy came over with a beer for Mike and a water for Megan.

"Thanks," Mike said.

Megan nodded a thanks as well, dropping a lemon slice into her water.

"So you came here a lot?" Mike asked.

"Like I said…" She sipped her water.

"So, what's the story with you and Ross, anyway?" he wanted to know.

Her brows knit together just slightly. "What do you mean?"

Logan raised his brows.

"What?" She raised hers back.

"Oh, come _on._"

Wheeler's mouth twisted slightly in annoyance. "You won't tell me about you and your CO and then you go and ask a question like that?" She took a drink of water, not believing he actually asked what he did.

"Well I never dated any of mine." He took a drink of his beer.

"Neither have I. Ass." She'd turned red again and took a long drink from her water glass.

He noticed her blushing and for a moment felt slightly bad. He took another drink and then finally answered her question. "I still hang out with Don Cragen."

"Cragen…from Special Vics? He's your guy?"

"Yeah."

She nodded slightly, playing with her silverware.

"There," he added, as if closing off the conversation from further questions.

At that, Megan's shoulders tensed slightly as she concentrated on her silverware.

"What's wrong?" Logan wanted to know.

She was half-amused, and said calmly, "Oh, so now you give a shit?"

"Nice." His answer bordered on sardonic.

The food arrived then, much to Wheeler's relief. The waitress set a large plate with a cheeseburger and fries in front of her and she immediately began to dig in. Meanwhile, Logan was only served a hamburger, the only thing he'd bothered to ask for and given a refill on his beer. Wheeler glanced up briefly, but when she saw the way that Logan was scarfing down his burger she decided to focus on her food, or else she'd have no appetite left.

_Logan, food goes in your mouth, not on your tie, _she wanted to tell him. Christ, did he not know how to close his mouth while he ate? Maybe it was a nasal congestion problem…She kept her eyes trained on her food, occasionally straying to her water glass or out the window but not in front of her. Just then, a fork invaded her fries.

"Hey!" She frowned, looking up at her partner. "I'm eating those."

"Why didn't you get bacon and cheese on these?" He shoveled several into his mouth.

"Because they're _mine._"

"They're bland," he said, going for more.

"Then quit eating them." She raised her fork in preparation to stab his hand away.

He feinted to the left and then snatched more.

Wheeler rolled her eyes. " You're like a little kid. Go ahead." She shoved the fries at him. She was learning that sometimes it was just easier to let him have his way than to argue. He gobbled and occasionally chewed.

She finished her water and couldn't help but let out an annoyed grunt. "Ugh."

"Ugh?" Logan raised his brows.

She wiped her mouth with a napkin and crumpled the napkin into a ball, tossing the paper onto her empty plate.

"You're in a mood," Logan was almost smirking.

"Typical male assumption." Wheeler didn't bother hiding her annoyance.

"No, that would be 'are you on your period?'…are you?"

She went on, face reddening slightly. "If the female isn't doing exactly what the male wants or behaving in a way that the male considers appropriate, she's 'in a mood', 'must be that time'." Her words were curt.

"You're not answering...guess that's a yes. How are the shakes here?"

"They're fine..." She pursed her lips. "I shouldn't have brought you here."

"Why?" He was obviously not getting it, or didn't want to get it or maybe he just didn't care. She didn't know, but she was tired of it.

Megan cocked her head toward the door, glancing over just as Alaina the waitress came back.

"Dessert?" Alaina asked.

"I'll take a shake," Logan said, like nothing was the matter.

"Megan?" Alaina asked.

"I'm good, thanks." She got up from the booth. "I'm actually gonna go take a walk...you can ring me up for my tab right now."

"Wait, you're _leaving_?" _Not that it should surprise me_, Logan thought.

"I'm going outside to get some fresh air while you eat your dessert, Logan. I'll be out by the car when you're ready to go."

"I'll get it to go," he said, getting up from the booth.

She shrugged and went to the register, pulling a wallet from her back pocket. Logan followed her.

"Damn, you're testy," he muttered.

Wheeler ignored him, peeling back several bills from her wallet and handing them to the waitress.

"See you around, Megan," Alaina called after her as Wheeler headed for the door.

Logan got his milkshake, tossed down his own money, then followed his partner. Wheeler was already at the car, unlocking it.

"What's with you?" Logan slurped the shake.

Not looking at him, Wheeler got into the car.

He slid into the passenger's side and looked at her.

"It's personal," she said wryly.

"Riiiiiight."

"What? You don't share anything, why should you be surprised when I don't? You can't expect me to trust you if you don't trust me."

"I shared...here..." He tilted the shake toward her. "You want some of my shake?"

"No."

He tried not to grumble. "Whaddaya want out of me?"

She didn't know anything about his other partners, save for Barek who had left in a cloud of mystery. She didn't know about his history other than a brief caricatured story of him getting thrown out to Staten Island. She didn't even know what number she was in the great long line of Logan partners. All she knew was the here and now.

She looked at him and finally answered. "I want to know that you have my back in the field and to know that I'm not going to get shot because you can't be bothered to get personal."

A look of bitterness flickered across Logan's eyes before his lips pursed tightly in a thin line.

"Right." He got out of the car. "I'll take the train back," he growled, slamming the door hard.

As he started lumbering away, Wheeler got out of the car, slamming the door too. "Hey, you're the one who said it. I'm just looking at the bigger picture here. It's not just _my _life out there. It's yours too…how are you supposed to trust me either, you know." She hurried after him, as he showed no signs of stopping.

"Put in for your transfer." He looked straight ahead, eyes narrowed.

"What?" She didn't understand what in the hell was going on with him.

"That was fucking low." His voice was gruff.

Her own eyes narrowed, but out of frustration. "I wasn't trying to insult you, Mike. I'm saying if you don't trust me...then how can I trust you? If we don't have something to build on, both of our asses are at risk..."

"Yeah, okay, whatever, ha fucking ha."

She threw her arms up. "What?!"

"Someone tell you it'd be funny to bring that up?"

"Bring what up?" The look on her face was genuinely confused.

He turned to face her, angry. "Don't make like you don't know, either."

She looked almost scared for a moment and then continued with caution.

"Logan, I'm sorry if I offended you...I don't know what you're talking about..." She started walking back to the car.

"Yeah, okay, sure," he said, hiking his jacket collar up and heading toward the subway.

Megan got into the car, her hands almost shaking as she jammed the key in the ignition. As she pulled out of the parking lot, she flipped open her phone. The number she'd dialed rang several times. Finally it went to voicemail.

"…Captain, it's Wheeler. I need to talk with you."

Ten minutes later as Megan waited in traffic, her phone rang.

"Wheeler," she answered, looking in her rearview mirror.

"It's me," Captain Danny Ross said. "Problem with the case?"

Megan made a face, though he couldn't see it. "…yeah, I'm on my way back to Major Case...I'll be in your office...fifteen minutes, maybe."

There was something bothering her. Danny knew her well enough to know that.

"You can't fill me in now?"

She sighed. "I lost Logan...I mean...I pissed him off and he took off..."

"You _lost_ him?"

"We were eating. I made the mistake of taking him to Sandy's for lunch. He decided he'd rather take the subway wherever than ride in the car with me."

"He can't have disliked the food that much."

Wheeler sighed again. "I'm approaching the building...I'll be up in less than ten minutes." She hung up her phone and parked the car.

Several minutes later, she walked into Ross' office, not bothering to knock. She had the same concentrated look on her face that she'd had at the restaurant and he knew that this was more serious than she'd let on over the phone.

"I'd ask your partner to explain, but he's got his phone shut off." Ross raised his brows at her.

"I don't know what his problem is," Wheeler shoved a hand in her pocket and gesticulated with the other. "I've been trying to make conversation for weeks...I just asked who his CO was...I mean, you know, everyone has a guy who helped them get where they are now...I knew from the way he'd talked before that it wasn't Deakins. And he says it's too personal."

Ross looked up at her from where he sat. "Mike Logan is a strange animal."

Wheeler went on. "So I said fine...then he starts asking _me_ personal questions..." She narrowed her eyes, "Like, 'What's going on with you and Ross?' " She gave the captain a look. It wasn't like they hadn't gotten the question before.

The corners of Ross's mouth turned down at that, annoyed that it was being brought up by Logan of all people.

"I said you can't expect me to answer personal questions if you don't...so he jokes around about it..." The frustration rose in Wheeler's voice.

"Should I even ask?"

She shook her head. "It's better not to. Finally...he asked me what I wanted out of him."

Ross looked at her, waiting for her to go on.

"All I said…" Her brows knit, replaying the scene in her head. "All I said was, I wanted to know he had my back out there, and that I'm not going to get shot because he can't be bothered to be 'personal'...Then he lost it."

Ross winced.

"...what?" Wheeler's brows went up in alarm.

He chose his words carefully. "If you're uncomfortable with Logan, and he can't control his mouth...I did warn you about him..."

She tilted her head very slightly, leaning in. "What aren't you telling me?"

Ross sighed. "He does have a few partner-related...incidents."

Wheeler gave him a cut-the-crap look.

"His first partner was killed off-duty," Ross informed her. "The second one caught a bullet on the job….that's no excuse for rattling you."

"Danny!" Megan was incredulous. "Why didn't anyone tell me this?"

He gave her a shrug. "Don Cragen told me he was touchy about it."

Her eyes widened. "Yeah and had I known, I could have known to avoid the subject...I didn't know...and he seemed to think I did it on purpose...which, besides being totally untrue and insulting is just…" She sputtered.

"I can reassign you both," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "He told me to put in for my transfer."

"You don't have to put up with him," Danny told her.

She nearly laughed. "Yeah, what are you going to do, split up Goren and Eames? Right. I'm not going back to White Collar after all this."

"I wasn't suggesting you would. Lieutenant Van Buren would take Logan back."

"Like he would go back." Wheeler shoved both hands back into her pockets. "I can't really afford to take a pay cut right now..."

Danny sighed, standing. "Megan. I wanted you to learn some hands-on from Logan...but I'm not going to tolerate his whims."

"He needs to understand that I didn't mean whatever he thought I meant...I'm not into sick jokes like that."

Ross nodded. "If you want to try to settle it, fine."

"Well he's obviously not leaving. And like I said, neither am I."

"All right, then. Let me know how it goes." He sat back down again.

"I'd prefer it if you'd talk to him first, Captain."

Ross made a face but picked up the phone from his desk and dialed.

"Logan. It's Danny Ross. _Again_. Finish your crime scene, or plan to revisit Staten Island." He hung up the phone and looked at Wheeler. "I talked to him...now go get him and start on your case."

"How am I supposed to get him when I don't know where the hell he is?"

"You're a detective…try his apartment."

Wheeler rolled her eyes. "It's a good thing I like the Village..."


End file.
